Natural Aquarium Cleaner

Waste-Away is a unique combination of bacteria that attack and dissolve organic wastes in the aquarium quickly. Even with good maintenance and monthly water changes, sludge and wastes remain in the aquarium in hard to reach and hard to see places, and are dissolved in the water. Waste-Away, a 100% natural beneficial-bacteria based product, works to quickly find, break down and remove these wastes.

Waste-Away works to remove aquarium gunk, unclog gravel or coral beds, and keep filter pads freely flowing longer. This results in better water flow, more oxygen and a healthier aquarium environment.

Waste-Away differs from other sludge busting bacteria products as it comprises several species of bacteria that were isolated from aquarium or pond environments so they can quickly and efficiently clean your aquatic system.*

Use it to help get rid of cyanobacteria, aquarium slime and to keep turtle tanks clean!

*CAUTION: When initially using Waste-Away, we strongly recommend adding only a half a dose. For especially dirty tanks, this may temporarily cause cloudy water and a low ammonia value. DO NOT OVERDOSE as this may cause a drop in the oxygen level.

Usage Chart

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Helpful Videos

Treating Cyanobacteria

Is your tank overrun with Cyanobacteria? • Are the decorations covered with green algae?

The traditional way to treat cyanobacteria and algae is with antibiotics and algaecides, respectively. But these only go after the symptoms of the problems and do nothing about the source of the problems. Plus, they create their own problems. The traditional antibiotics used to fight cyanobacteria also kill the beneficial nitrifying bacteria and symbiotic coral bacteria. Algaecides can also kill beneficial microorganisms that are needed to keep the aquarium in balance.

Go Natural – Stop Using Antibiotics

Use DrTim’s Aquatics Waste-Away as a 100% natural way to get rid of the underlying cause of out of control growth of aquarium slime, algae and cyanobacteria. These unsightly organisms grow when nutrients and organics are high in your aquarium. The only long-term way to deal with them is to eliminate their food – excess nutrient and organics.

Waste-Away is an innovative, special blend of bacteria isolated from our own freshwater and saltwater aquaria and ponds. These bacteria attack organics, both dissolved and particulate, in the aquarium and in the process consume phosphate and nitrate. As mentioned organics, nitrate and phosphate fuel growth of algae, slime and cyanobacteria so using antibiotics/algaecides will only temporally help. And once they kill their target the dead algae and cyanobacteria decay producing more organics and nutrients to feed more algae and cyanobacteria – continuing the cycle.

How to Get Rid of Algae and Cyanobacteria

The traditional methods of using antibiotics and algaecides have one “benefit” – they work fast. You can usually see results in a day. But this “victory” is short lived and the cyanobacteria or algae come back even stronger than before because, as mentioned earlier, the decaying dead cells become food that spurs the re-growth of the algae and cyanobacteria. The 100% natural alternative method presented here takes a little longer but does not involve any harmful chemicals or antibiotics, just beneficial bacteria that GET TO THE SOURCE of the problem.

Here’s how to proceed:

1. Manually remove as much of the algae/cyano as possible by siphoning, netting and micro filtration.
2. Use DrTim’s Re-Fresh for a total of 10 to 14 days, adding Re-Fresh every 3 to 4 days (dosage is 5 ml per 10 gallons aquarium water). Reef tank owners – beware that high doses of Re-Fresh may harm snails and shrimp so these organisms should be removed from the aquarium.
3. After the Re-Fresh regime, dose the aquarium with Waste-Away. Start with a half-dose (5ml per 10 gallons). Add another half dose 2 days later. If there are a lot of organics in the system you may experience cloudy water. This is a sign that the beneficial bacteria are working but also a sign to proceed cautiously because too much of a bacterial bloom can lower the oxygen to dangerous levels. If there is no cloudiness, add a full dose on day 4. Continue to add Waste-Away every 2 to 3 days (watching for any cloudiness) for 2 weeks. Generally at the end of this 4 week period of adding Re-Fresh and Waste-Away, the tank will be clean and there will be a noticeable improvement in water clarity and cleanliness of the substrate.
4. Once the aquarium is looking better, Waste-Away should be added on a routine basis – at least every month. However, it is important for you to evaluate the reasons for the organic build-up in the aquarium in the first place. Is it the result of overfeeding, overpopulation, lack of routine cleaning? To save yourself continued headaches, a critical self-evaluation of the causes is warranted and action needed.

Here is a recipe card you can download that give day by day, step by step directions.